Knockwood: Orychle's Story
by Orychle
Summary: It is based in the American Wizarding world, at the collegelike Knockwood School of Advanced Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is Orychle Devlon's P.O.V.runs paralell to Ian's Story
1. Chapter One

-1**Knockwood "Fanfic"\**

While Harry Potter and his young friends battle with Lord Voldemort along with their standard Hogwarts life, there is another school, thousands of miles away. Stateside, a school, like Hogwarts, exists. Hidden on a set of islands off the eastern coast of the United States, is Knockwood; the school for Advanced Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unlike the English wizarding world, the stateside wizards have a different curriculum. Young wizards and witches spend five years in a basic school for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and when they turn sixteen, they graduate to the Advanced School. This Wizarding "high school" follows a more mature set of rules than the average wizarding school. Their spells are harder, their classes more intense., and their students. Well….their students are like no other.

And that is where we start our story, with a first year, on his way to his first year . His life is going to take interesting turns as he learns more about himself, the wizarding world, and of life in general. . .

Orychle Devlon stood at the front of the boat anxiously. He had excelled in basic wizarding school, and was looking forward to the Advanced school. He ran through his head everyone he had known before, wondering who would be joining him here at Knockwood. Many of his friends decided not to advance, much against their parents dismay. Some of his friends transferred to other wizarding schools across the globe. He was happy, however, to have his half-brother, Ian Flanagan, advancing with him. They had been close friends since they were toddlers, and helped each other through basic school. Wherever Orychle lagged, Ian excelled, and visa versa. He smiled to himself as he thought of the late nights with Ian going over arithmancy over and over again. He was so bad at math, thank Merlin Ian was a math-genius. He himself was a master of charms, something Ian was good at, but far from expert in. For brothers, they complimented each other well. They even looked somewhat similar: both had the same fiery red hair (though Ian's seemed to have darkened a bit after puberty), and they both had amazingly striking eyes. Orychle's eyes were a hollow grey, and many said they were extremely wise. Ian's eyes, an emerald green, were always said to show an age far surpassing Ian's. Both had fit bodies (though Ian's was muscular where Orychle was simply well-toned), and both were fairly tall (Orychle being around six foot three, Ian just a few inches shorter).

Yes, they were alike in many a ways, but from a personality standpoint, they couldn't be more different: Orychle was quiet, and enjoyed watching those around him, Ian was very-outspoken and part of the crowd. Even at this moment, with Orychle staring at his future, Ian was below deck, playing some card games with a few girls from their old school.

The sea crashed against the front of the boat, sending a salty spray into Orychle's face. He didn't mind, he loved the ocean, always had. He breathed in the salty sea-air deeply and gazed upon the island. They were close now, and he could see the school near the center of the main island.

The boat was coming in on the Eastern shore of the island, where the docks were. To their right, was the Quidditch Isle, where all practices and games were held. On the main isle, a few hundred yards from the docks, was the Aeridorn Dormitories. Their owl-crest stood, watching all entrants wisely above the doorway. Large and college-dorm styled, each houses' dorm buildings held two wings (one for boys, the other for girls) and a huge lounge/commons area. There was also a third wing, jutting out of the back of the building, he had heard rumors that Knockwood had recently allowed co-ed dormitories for their 18-21 year old students, apparently, this was it. He gazed into the distance, far off, on the northern part of the isle, was the Everard house; their crest, a large, noble boar, embedded over the front entryway. Barely visible, on the opposite side of the island from Aeridorn's dormitories, was a blue and gold decorated building. This was the Kinrick House. Their house mascot was the playful sea otter, which there was an over-abundance of off the western shore of the isle. South of the main school, Orychle gazed in both fear, and bewilderment at the strong, yet dark, Wolfsbane Dorms. Their house colors were black and red, their mascot: a sinister-looking fox. They were usually the bullies of Knockwood, boasting cruel senses of humor, and often evil intentions. Their house sat closest to the Dark isle. An island a few hundred yards off of the southern coast of the island, boasting a menacing looking cave. This island's other name is the Forbidden Isle, since no student under 18 is allowed there without express permission and accompaniment. Orychle was relieved in the thought that he would most definitely not become a Wolfsbane member. No, he knew his place would be in Aeridorn, where those with a thirst for knowledge and understanding are always welcome.

His eyes fell now onto the castle. It was gorgeous. There were four HUGE floors, sunrooms here and there on the corners, a spacious, decorated garden and courtyard. He could not wait to explore the castle itself as well as the castle grounds. His feet and curiosity itched with excitement as the boat lurched into the dock. He turned around and watched about 75 students shuffle towards the plank. This was only about half of the first years, the rest coming in on brooms or across the ferry off of the west shore crossing over from Ingrixton. Not only that, he knew that there would be about four times as many students total then there was at his previous school. This made him slightly anxious, until Ian came up and slapped his hand on Orychle's shoulder.

"Don't let it pull you down, brother. Just take one step at a time, and remember not to make any enemies the first day." He winked, his sense of humor was sometimes dry and slightly cruel. Silently Orychle wondered if Ian would be placed in Aeridorn or Wolfsbane, he was made out for either. They would know by this afternoon, their first stop was the main hall of the castle, where they would be sorted.

It was a good forty-five minutes between exiting the boat and walking through the front entryway of the castle. Orychle had lost track of Ian some twenty minutes earlier (this happened when he noticed a few new girls that had not come from their previous school, Ian always felt it necessary that the new girls knew his name immediately). Pushed and prodded through the crowd, Orychle sighed heavily and awaited anxiously for the sorting ceremony to begin. His surname started with a "D", so he knew he wouldn't have to stay crowded very long.

"Welcome, everyone to the Knockwood School of Advanced Witchcraft and Wizardry," a tall, black-bearded wizard bellowed in front of them. He stood on the top steps, separating the crowd from the great hall itself. "I am Headmaster Arborshate, if you'll all wait patiently, and try to make a split in the crowd, we will begin the sorting ceremony shortly." He admired the crowd and waited patiently for them to part, which they did (though anyone who walked through the "part" would still feel rather crowded). Once everyone was settled, his voice echoed throughout the hall: "If we are all ready, we will move steadfast to place you all in your houses, once you are sorted, you shall join your house's table, and please; try not to make too much noise greeting your new housemates, there will be more than enough time for it after the ceremony is complete." This was answered with a soft chuckle coming from the crowd of first years like a wave.

A younger teacher, surprisingly young for an advanced school, approached the Headmaster's left side, and whispered something to him. "Thank you, Professor Intrite." he said, and turned back to the crowd, Orychle took a moment to visually scan Professor Intrite: he was a shorter man, with a strong kind of face, yet wise, hazel eyes. His hair was slightly askew, and far darker black than that of the headmaster's. Orychle wondered what he taught, but lost his train of thought when Headmaster Arborshate spoke again. "Candy Berrt," he said, and a shorter girl with light brown hair and strikingly bright blue eyes all but skipped up from the back towards the headmaster. Once she stood before him, he raised his hand and the entire castle seemed to rumble "Evvvverrraarrrddd" the girl's legs shook, and she had a nervous look on her face when the castle spoke, all was quickly resolved when Arborshate put his hand on her shoulder and motioned her to along table in the Hall.

Orychle stood, staring in awe as one after another was called forward, and each time, they stood there, emotionally barren before the headmaster, and had the castle lurch out a house name. Orychle listened a bit, paying some attention to the sorting, catching only a few names at a time. "Killy Brooks,-Wolfsbane; Roxanne Carter- Aeridorn" a few more names and he finally heard his: "Orychle Devlon," the headmaster boomed, and he walked down the part, nervously.

He hated being stared at, though he knew it was unavoidable in this particular instance. He stood there, staring at the headmaster, waiting for the castle to decide, but nothing happened. The headmaster stared down at him, the looked around him expectantly. "Well?" he said aloud, and of a soft hum vibrated throughout. The headmaster raised his head and stared straight forward, as if he was listening intently. "Oh, is that so?" He chuckled softly to himself and knelt down before Orychle. "Boy, the castle seems to be torn with you, it looks like you would fit perfectly in Aeridorn, Kinrick, OR Wolfsbane. Go ahead and pick your house then, it is your choice." The headmaster's eyes were so wise, Orychle fixated on them a moment, dazed in their stare. So friendly, he though, yet pained. He looked away so he could decide. He had wanted Aeridorn, but confronted with the option, he wasn't sure….He supposed he may enjoy Kinrick, but all the same, "Aeridorn, sir!" He said, proudly, and the castle lurched harder than before, the hearty laugh of a centuries-old castle. The headmaster then directed him towards his table.

He listened still for awhile, admiring the older students around him. He heard "Tyler Dias-Wolfsbane; and Brandon Diggorced-Kinrick" before a third year boy slid in next to him.

"Hi, I'm Alexander, welcome to Aeridorn." He smiled warmly, and extended his hand, which Orychle gladly shook, returning his name. "We're excited to see how many Aeridorn's we get this year, the last few years have been kind of slim." he laughed, Orychle couldn't help feeling strangely comfortable with the boy, as if he had known him for a long time, though they had just met. Before Alexander could speak again, Orychle jerked his head to his brother's name "Ian Flanagan" All he could see was the top of his brother's head as it bobbed up the steps towards the headmaster. Ian stole a glance at his brother and smiled. The castle stood quiet again, however, Orychle just chuckled to himself. Again the hum vibrated throughout and the Headmaster nodded his head in understanding. "You too, it seems, may choose your house." Before the headmaster could even finish speaking, Ian burst out "Wolfsbane!" And lunged up the steps towards his new house table.

Orychle's heart sank a little. He had kind of hoped Ian would be sorted into Aeridorn, and was furthermore hurt that not only was he not sorted into Aeridorn he had chosen Wolfsbane. It should have been expected, really, Ian was a bit darker personality-wise. He belonged in Wolfsbane, Orychle convinced himself.

He spent the rest of the ceremony listening back and forth, catching three more Wolfsbane girls' (Angel Indred, Libby Ollie, and Erica Riddle); An Everard (cassie nester), and another Aeridorn girl (Sharie Morse). Those were just the names he caught, of course there were many more, but he and Alexander had stricken up a conversation about the conversion of potions into spells (something Orychle had a great deal of interest in), and were completely lost in themselves.

The ceremony was followed with a wonderful buffet-like meal that appeared on their plates before them, and once the plate was empty, one had but to think of what the wanted next, and it appeared. Orychle barely got through one plate of his favorite meal: Chili dogs with extra cheese with a heavy side of seasoned fries and two apples for dessert. He couldn't help notice that Alexander went through three different pastas, each a double helping. When noticed, he simply laughed and said something about a "heavy Italian appetite". After everyone had had their fill, and the plates stayed empty (though their goblets stayed filled) the headmaster stood and called everyone to attention.

"Now that you have enjoyed your first meal here at Knockwood, I shall keep you no longer. By now, you have no doubt started a good many conversations with your new housemates, and have begun catching up with your friends from previous years. I will remind you that classes start in one week, and that students are allowed anywhere on the main castle Isle, and allowed over to Ingrixton only during the daytime hours, and only after informing a teacher or prefect of their leave. For those of you who are new, or very forgetful, I will say it again as I have every year: anyone under the age of 18 is absolutely NOT allowed on the Dark Isle without both express permission and a suitable guardian. This is not an idle threat, my students. There are things in that cave even I would have nightmares over, so do not find yourself brave and run there to prove yourself." He paused and gave the entire room a you know who I'm talking about' glare before continuing: "Now that I have that out of the way, I wish you all a wonderful year here at Knockwood, and remind you that my door is always open if you need to speak with me. Thank you, you're prefects shall lead you to your dormitories, and the rest of the evening is yours from then." He gave a heartfelt smile and nodded slightly, a signal every prefect was waiting for. They all stood up at once, almost in unison, and began ushering their housemates down the grand staircase and out the front enterance where the large group separated into four smaller ones.

Orychle glanced over, trying to catch a glimpse of his brother, but was lost in the mass of students surrounding him. Alexander nudged him on his left. "See something you like, eh?" and gave a playful wink.

"No," Orychle laughed, "I was going to catch my brother, but it seems quite impossible in this crowd. Alexander responded with a nod and excused himself. Orychle watched him elbow his way through the mass and put his arm around a young blond girl, who began chattering excitedly with him. With a sigh, Orychle trudged on toward his dormitory house.

The dormitory was even more massive than it had appeared from the boat. The entryway was almost as large as the castles', and the crest embedded above the door was that of a beautiful silver owl on a rich purple background with the words "Aeridorn : Where curiosity and desire for knowledge abound" inscribed below it.

There were twelve steps up to the large, darkened cherry-wood doors, and Orychle took every step in awe. Inside, there were rich banners of purple and silver surrounding the heavy banisters and strewn across the main foyer. Three prefects stood at the foot of the staircase with their hands raised trying to get everyone's attention, but failing miserably. Finally, a lanky dirty-blond boy held his wand to his throat and bellowed "Sonorous" and everyone stopped talking at once. Removing his wand, he began: "I am Chris Terrins, the third year prefect, to my right is Alvin Davies, the second year prefect; and to my left is Maria Dashan, the sixth year prefect." Orychle took a moment to absorb the two other prefects. Alvin was shorter than Chris, with a less than attractive face, and almost buggy eye of cobalt blue. Maria, on the other hand, was a vision of Eastern Indian beauty. She donned a purple hajab which matched the Aeridorn purple perfectly. It framed her delicate face and deep brown eyes amazingly.

"One of you first years will receive a letter on your bed within the next few days declaring you the first year prefect. There are no fourth or fifth year prefects this term." He paused, letting everyone absorb this information so far, then "Now, behind us is the main stairwell, to my right is the multi-purpose room, and to my left is the main lounge room. Up these stairs and to the right are the boys rooms. Search the doors for your name; there are three boys to a room. Up the stairs to the left are the Girls' rooms, you will do the same. The center room is off limit's to anyone under the age of 18, it is the co-ed hallway, and you are not permitted to enter it unless escorted by one of its tenants." He glanced around the room, making sure he still had everyone's attention. "Go ahead and find your room, and get comfortable, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to speak with either Alvin, Maria, or myself, respectively." He gave everyone a final glance and smile, then turned and went up the stairs, heading straight for the middle doorway.

Orychle was more than anxious to find out who he'd be rooming with, and he searched the hall feverishly for his name. Finally, three rooms from the end of the hall, on his left side, there was his name. Below his name were two other ones "Jacob Evans, first year" and "Marcus Fereline, second year". He was a little surprised that there were mixed years, but he later learned that once you're in a room, you are there until you graduate. And Marcus' former two roommates had dropped out after the previous year.

He pushed the door open and found Marcus already sitting in a desk by the window. Marcus was unusually short, probably around 4'10, and had thick black hair and piercing green eyes. Orychle introduced himself and stood there a moment, taking the room in. It was a relatively large room, considering it was a dorm room. There were three beds, two bunked and one not (Marcus got first choice, being the second year and had already taken the un-bunked bed); three desks, two by the window, their backs touching, and one close to the door, wedged between the bunk bed and the closet. There were heavy tapestries over the window and surrounding the beds, and the entire room was made of cold gray stone. Not exactly a warming place, at least not at first.

After Orychle had taken in the room, and began unpacking his things (he had settled on the top bunk), Jacob walked into the room, a strong smile across his strong face. His hair was an average brown, and his eyes a usual blue-green. His physique, on the other hand, was quite impressive, being thick-armed and broad shoulders. Orychle wondered immediately if he was a Quidditch player.

"Hey guys, I'm Jacob." He said, his voice was almost deep, and very rich; his smile warm and inviting.

"I'm Orychle, I hope you don't mind I already started putting my stuff up here," he motioned towards the top bunk and gave a nervous smile.

"No, that's not a problem, I tend to sleep-walk, and I'd hate to break my neck" he laughed heartedly. He turned toward Marcus "Marcus, right? You knew my brother, David Evans." He said, and stood there expectantly.

Marcus simply turned from his desk, where he was rather engrossed in a thick book and nodded "Yup, ran with him and ole Fur last year." Then gave a weak smile and turned back.

Orychle couldn't figure out if Marcus was stuck up, or just really into that book. He stole a glance at the cover "Apparition and You: an idiots guide to not killing yourself". He couldn't help uttering a soft laugh, he had read all of two chapters of that book before falling asleep, it was so bland and boring. If Marcus was reading it, however, he must need to, no one would be so enthralled in that particularly piece of literature unless their future relied on it.

"Well, Orychle," Jacob said, while pulling his trunk out of the closet (apparently every house-elf on campus had worked over-time to get the belongings in their respective rooms during the sorting ceremony), "I'm not a big fan of windows either, do you mind taking that desk then?" he smiled and moved towards the cramped desk.

Thank Merlin' Orychle thought, he was a little claustrophobic and would have went nuts in that little space. "No problem, I was actually hoping for it." He said, almost beaming, this day was just getting better and better.

After both he and Jacob had unpacked, Orychle stretched out on his bed and let out a relaxed sigh. It had been a long boat-ride down the east coast, and that sorting ceremony was less than soothing. He was still slightly baffled that the castle was actually alive, or at least could speak. He mentally noted himself to inquire about that to his first teacher. With that thought, he decided to give a quick look-over to his class list. He only had five classes, like most first years: Multi-cultural magical studies, Alchemy, Charms and Enchantments, and Curses, Hexes & Dark rituals', a class Ian had convinced him to take.

He knew M.C.M.S. was a two-hour class, as was alchemy. He wondered how long the other two would be; their times were not fully listed. It truly didn't matter, he was looking forward to Charms and Enchantments, no matter how long or short the class was. It was, after all, one of his best subjects.

He wasn't sure what to do next, it was far too early to go to bed, but he was not exactly the type to run around making new friends; he felt uncomfortable enough in a room with two strangers. Just as he was debating whether to head over to the Wolfsbane dorm and see how Ian was doing with his new roommates, Alexander knocked on their open door.

"Hey Orry, come on, I'll introduce you to some people," his smile and ever-going cheer was almost ridiculous, "don't want to seem like a prude, do you?" he laughed, Marcus chuckled.

Orychle chuckled nervously, "I'm not exactly great with new people, Alexander." He said, still unsure. "Oh stuff it and come on before I stupefy you and drag you with me" he joked, "and call me Alex, please." He leaned against the doorway and waited for "Orry" to jump down from the top bunk and straighten up his hair a bit. With a nod, he followed Alex out into the semi-crowded hallway.

It took all of one introduction for Orychle's palms to begin sweating. The only thing that made him more uncomfortable than new people was a crowd of new people. And that is definitely what was everywhere at the moment. He had no siblings besides Ian, and knew noone, save Alex (who he was still slightly nervous around).

They worked the crowd' for a good twenty minutes, Alex practically shoving Orychle into quick introductions with loads of people. It didn't take him long for the day to finally catch up to him. After meeting Alex's third cousin twice removed, he announced he had to get some sleep, he was exhausted. His host gave him a sympathetic, yet sad, look and an apologetic nod "I'm sorry, I should've dragged you around tomorrow instead." He sighed and smiled, "How about we head over to Ingrixton tomorrow and have lunch with a couple of my friends from last year? It'll just be a small group of us, so you have no reason to complain," he had added the last bit quickly.

Orychle, of course, could not refuse, Alex really was just trying to help. "Ok, sure." He smiled, "I'll come by your room once I get up, ok?" His response got a questionable look, " Don't worry, I never sleep past noon anyway" he added, trying to end the conversation, he had grown so tired so quickly. Alex finally nodded.

"Ok, but if I don't hear you rapping on my door by 12:01, I'll come drag you out of your room, got it?" he chuckled, Orychle could not believe how happy this guy always was. It was almost annoying. He nodded a heavy nod and turned to head back to his room.

Once there, he noticed Jacob had already gone to sleep, and was snoring heavily. "Terrific" he said, and glanced over at Marcus, who was smiling at him.

"Consider yourself lucky, last year both of my roommates snored, and either one of them could have brought down the building on a nightly basis." He gave a playful wink and stretched his smile a bit wider.

After Marcus' statement, Orychle DID consider himself lucky; he began rummaging in his closet for his pajamas. Once he found them, he turned around and stopped cold. Marcus was standing there, next to his un-bunked bed, stark naked. In a split second Orychle's eyes flashed the man's entire stature. He was surprisingly more developed than expected, and had a good number of tattoos on his upper chest and legs. His eyes fell on the space between Marcus' legs and felt himself grow hot. He turned away embarrassed when his eyes rose and he found Marcus staring at him, unmoving.

"I—I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—" he fumbled for words.

Marcus just laughed. "Don't worry about it, kid. I don't mind, look all you want." He gave a wink, and scratched his chest a bit, still standing there. Orychle couldn't resist but take another quick look. He bit his lower lip, he had never quite realized how attractive a man's body was, his nose was always shoved in some book or another. Nor had he ever wondered about his sexuality, though he was sixteen and everyone else he knew had already had boyfriends or girlfriends.

He turned away again, and stripped himself, and pulled on his navy pajama pants. When he'd turned back around, Marcus was laying in bed, head propped up by his arms, eyeing Orychle. "Don't mind if I look too, right?" he said, quietly. This, of course, made Orychle quite nervous and his response was shorter than he meant it to be.

"No, it's fine" he said, then crawled up onto the top bunk. When he turned back around to pull the tapestry closed, he saw Marcus staring up at him, one of his arms now gone from his head and buried underneath his cover. He gave him a smile and pulled the tapestry closed. He lay there for a while; the day's event's running through his head, feeling himself drift towards sleep. He finally nodded off into dreams to the sounds of his new roommates sensual moans.


	2. Chapter Two

-1Orychle woke up the next morning to the scratching sounds of quill-on-parchment. He stuck his head between the tapestries of his bed to see Marcus sitting at his desk scratching something down furiously. Orychle wondered what was wrong, Marcus, who wasn't wearing a shirt, just jeans, was a dark magenta all over, and his muscles were flexing angrily. He figured it would be best not to interfere, so he quietly let himself off the top bunk and got dressed. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Marcus throw down the quill and shout angrily. Orychle whipped around, worried Marcus had decided to be angry about the night before. He stood there a moment, frozen, while his roommate heaved hatefully, glaring at his desk.

"Fucking BITCH" he screamed, slamming his fists on the table. He had raised his head a bit, and Orychle could see his eyes were red and wet from tears. He inched forward.

"Marcus?" he whispered, cautiously. "Are you alright?" He made sure to stay a few feet from him, and was ready to turn and run. This man was far more muscular than he, and Orychle was not much of a physical fighter.

Marcus' demeanor changed almost instantly, "Oh, Orychle, yeah, I guess…" he sighed and his back started to return to a normal, fleshy tone. "Its just…" he glared down at the parchment before him, and Orychle noticed there was another parchment next to it, already written on in a more feminine print.

He had paused for a good while, apparently scanning over the already-written parchment. "That bitch of a girlfriend of mine just dumped me." His eyes were filled with both hatred and sorrow as he stared at his new roommate.

Orychle was slightly confused, and apparently it showed on his face.

"I'm bisexual," Marcus said, an understanding chuckle in his voice. "And my girlfriend just graduated last year. She and I were supposed to stay in a relationship, but … enjoy the company of others' while I was here. Instead, she has decided to run off with one of the U.S. Quidditch team members." These final words were all but spat out, and Orychle nodded with both sympathy and understanding. "I'm sorry to hear that, Marcus." He went and sat on the head-corner of Marcus' bed, now only a foot or so away from Marcus himself. "If you need someone to talk to, just let me know, ok?" He smiled, a warm, friendly smile of understanding. Marcus returned his smile and put his hand on Orychle's thigh.

"Thanks, that means a lot to me." He gave a soft squeeze and pulled his hand back. He wiped his face off and sat back in his chair. "So, any big plans for your first full day at Knockwood?" he said, smiling. He apparently decided to push his now ex-girlfriend far from his min.

"Well," Orychle began, "Alexander was going to take me over to Ingrixton with a small group of his friends, so I could meet some new people." He said, still unsure about going in the first place. In all honesty, he'd rather sit here in his room and get his desk area set up with his note and what-not from his personal side-projects.

Marcus laughed, "Alexander, huh?" he shook his head, still laughing softly. "What yourself around that one, kid, he tends to get bored with new people; and when he gets bored with someone, he forgets they exist." He looked straight into Orychle's eyes and smiled broader. "Why don't you ditch him and hang out with me today? We can head over to Ingrixton ourselves and see what kind of mischief we can stir up," he said with a wink.

This did feel a lot better about this idea than of Alexander's, and he couldn't help but feel his blood warm at the thought of spending the day at Marcus' side. " I guess I could always tell Alex we can do it another time…" he said, still thinking. "I could tell him you want to spend the day with me so we can get to know each other, we will be roommates for the next four years, after all" he smiled, feeling rather good about his excuse.

Marcus smiled and jumped from his chair "Perfect! You go ahead and let Alex know real quick, while I get ready." He said, and was already at his chest and pulling out clothes before Orychle even stepped away from his bed. He was at the door just as Marcus was stark naked and about to pull on his pants. Orychle smiled and tried to tear his eyes away from the sight, but lingered a moment more. Marcus just gave him a sideways smile and said, "Go on and tell him. I'll be here when you get back."

Orychle nodded and left the room, wondering how hard it would be to find Alex. It was amazingly easy, he found; Alex was standing at the top of the stairway talking to Alvin about something. When he saw Orychle he smiled, "You ready?"

There was a tinge in Orychle's stomach as he began, "Actually Alex, my roommate, Marcus, wants to spend the day hanging out and getting to know me," his stomach tightened as a look of dismay crossed Alex's face. "We will be roommates for the next four years, you know," he interjected quickly. This seemed to appease Alex, for he simply shrugged and smiled. "Ok, no problem, maybe tomorrow then?" he asked, and when Orychle nodded in return, he finished "Great, well I'll see you then, ok?" and he turned and walked off with Alvin.

He returned to his room to find Marcus dressed and ready. He was wearing some oddly tight dark blue jeans, and a black a-shirt with an inch-high Aeridorn crest sewn over where his heart would be. He gave a stretch and tucked his wand into a small wand-pouch attached to his belt. He straightened out his pant legs and wiped some smudge off of the toe of his thick black boots. "He asked to reschedule, I bet" he said, when Orychle walked through the door.

"Yeah, how did you know?" he asked, smiling.

"Well, he's a bit pushy, don't expect him to remind you anytime soon, though. He'll probably wait until the worse possible moment to remind you that you owe him." He chuckled to himself. "No cares, though, you ready to head over to Ingrixton?"

Orychle nodded and reached for his robe, but Marcus stopped him.

"Don't be that guy, kid," he said with a laugh.

"But, I don't have anything else with the Aeridorn crest on it, nor do I have a place for my wand." He said, looking down at himself. He was wearing loose-fitting cargo pants (the pockets were far too short for his wand) and a loose-fitting t-shirt. He noted that he looked shockingly frumpy.

"Here," Marcus said, grabbing an Aeridorn A-shirt from his chest and tossing it to Orychle. He dug around and found another wand-pouch as well. "Go ahead and keep them, I've got tons of both."

Orychle looked down and smiled, "Thanks." He set them on Jacob's bed and took off his t-shirt. He slid it on and couldn't help but notice it smelled strongly of Marcus. He must keep his dirty clothes in the chest with his clean clothes' he laughed internally. He then removed his belt and slid the wand-pouch on it, being careful not to let his pants fall, they were a good two sizes larger than he actually needed, but he liked the extra breathing room'. Returning his belt and re-buckling it, he tossed his t-shirt into the corner with yesterday's clothes and gave Marcus an I'm ready now' nod.

With another strong smile, Marcus slung his arm around Orychle's shoulders and let him out of the room.

Marcus and Orychle stepped off of the ferry onto the black cobblestone of Ingrixton. The buildings were tall, and extremely old; made out of the same color stone as the roads. Orychle couldn't help but stop in his tracks and admire his surroundings. No wizarding town he had seen so far was so old and magnificent. He took a deep breath and thrust his hands into his pockets. He felt the bundle of Phins in his pocket, he was glad he came from a semi-wealthy background. He hated going anywhere without a couple of galleons-worth in his pocket.

"Can't enjoy this place standing in the docks, kid," Marcus said, putting his arm around Orychle's shoulders again. Merlin, how he felt comfortable with Marcus' arm around him. "Let's go get something to eat," he said, smiling at him, "My treat." He added with a wink and soft squeeze of his arm.

Being able to do nothing more than nod, smiling, Orychle let himself fall into step with Marcus as they walked towards what appeared to be a small café. The sign above the door read Javies Italian Eatery', and the delectable scents of soft bread and marinara wafted from the doorway. It smelt so good, his mouth began to water.

They entered in and sat in a booth in the back corner, away from everyone else. Orychle instinctively scooted into the back corner with his back against the wall; to his surprise, Marcus slid in next to him. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and pulled the ashtray close to him.

"Thank god, I was afraid I'd have to stop here," Orychle said, picking up Marcus' pack and pulling one out for himself. "Don't mind, do you?" he said with a smile, tapping his knee against Marcus'.

The young man was actually rather shocked to see Orychle puffing away on one of his cigarettes. "No, no problem at all." It was a comfortable shock, there didn't seem to be a lot of smokers at Knockwood, and especially in the Aeridorn house. Just then, a waitress came over and gave them a queer sort of grin.

"Do you need a minute boys?" she said, giving them a playful wink.

Orychle glanced down at the menu, and looked over at Marcus shaking his head.

"No, we're ready, ma'am." He began, "I'll have three slices of sausage pizza please," he turned to Orychle, waiting.

"Sausage and pepperoni calzone, please." He said, smiling, the only thing he enjoyed more than chilidogs were calzones.

"And two pops, please," Marcus added as the waitress picked up the menus. She nodded and said it would be a few minutes and left them alone again. "So, do you have a girlfriend back home?" He asked bluntly, and took a heavy drag off of his cigarette.

Orychle was slightly shocked at the blatant question, "No, I've never had a girlfriend…"he said, then added quietly, "or a boyfriend." He felt his face grow warm. It occurred to him that he felt more than comfortable with Marcus. There was some kind of chemical attraction that had occurred that morning. He had never felt anything like it before, nor had he ever considered being with a man before. Yet somehow, it felt _right_ to think about being in another man's arms.

"Well, maybe that can be changed," he said, slipping his arm behind Orychle. "If you want it to be." He added, scooting just a bit closer.

His face burned red hot as he felt Marcus' warm breath on his neck. The warmth of his thigh seemed to penetrate his entire body, and in his mind he felt himself say more than anything.'

"Then it's a done deal," Marcus said, giving Orychle a tight squeeze. Apparently the words had been spoken as well as thought, although he hadn't noticed himself speaking. He didn't mind, and he was far to embarrassed at what he said to complicate it more with a mixed up explanation.

It was at this point that a crowd burst into the doorway. Marcus and Orychle both turned their heads and watched as three Everard girls burst into the doorway, a loudmouthed redheaded girl leading the trio.

"Oh, no." Orychle sighed and put his hand up to head face, pretending to be scratching his forehead, but it was no use.

"OH MY GOD, ORRY!" the girl rushed over and plunged into the booth, sitting right across from Orychle. "I didn't realize you were already here! I must have missed your sorting last night!" She said, after noting the Aeridorn crest on his chest. She stole a glance at Marcus and noticed his arm around her friend. "Oh, already working the house, I see. My, I had a suspicion you were gay; glad you finally figured it out yourself." She said, still smiling. "I'm Candy Berrt," she said, grabbing Marcus' hand and shook it hard.

"Nice to meet you, Candy. I'm Marcus," he returned her smile.

"Orychle, this is Kiera Moon, and Rebecca Dark." She motioned towards the two who had followed her in. Rebecca was short, probably around 5'5 or so, and average sized. Her pale skin and long, black hair made her look more like your average Wolfsbane than a noble Everard. Her eyes were focused down in a book Gnomes and You: a documentary', but Orychle could see they were blue.

The other girl, Kiera Moon, had not stopped smiling, her pearl gray eyes twinkling the entire time. She too, was shorter, about as tall as Rebecca, and her hair was long and dark brown. Her figure was more muscular than Rebecca's, and gave her the air of a true athlete. It made sense to him that Candy would hang out with these two girls, for she herself was also short, with dark brown hair. Her eyes were blue as well, but far brighter than Rebecca's. From a distance, the three almost looked like a set of triplets.

"So!" Candy blurted, interrupting his thoughts, "Where did you meet the stud here, Orychle? Was he floundering about the lounge all lost and helpless," she played, batting her eyelashes.

"Actually, he's my roommate." Orychle said, a bit sheepishly. Candy let out a loud laugh.

"Well, they couldn't make it any easier for you, could they honey?" She said, still laughing, her laugh struck such a chord in Orychle's ear. At times like this, it sounded to him like a cross between a hyena and a braying mule.

Orychle gave her a slightly sore glare, trying not to let Marcus see it. He was hoping she would take the hint and find her own table. She missed his glare, but before she could speak again, was sidetracked by another group walking in. Orychle looked to see who it was. This time, it was a mixture of houses, there was two Aeridorn girls, Roxanne Carter and Sharie something (he hadn't caught her last name the night before). He knew Roxanne from basic wizarding school. They were accompanied by a Kinrick boy, who seemed to be flirting with Roxanne. He was taller than both girls, and wore his blonde hair loose and wavy. He was about as thin as Orychle, but his arms were rather thick with muscle.

Sharie stood there, twirling her curly red hair in her fingers; her beautiful green eyes rolled up towards the ceiling. She had her other hand propped on her almost bony hip. She was fairly slim, and looked more like a twig next to Roxanne and the Kinrick boy's athletic figures.

Roxanne, on the other hand, was absorbing as much of this boy as she could, returning his flirting with shy glances and playful shoves. Every time she laughed, her strawberry-blonde curls bounced against her strong, yet feminine, shoulders.

As soon as Candy saw them come in, her eyes grew twelve sizes. "I'll talk to you later hons," she said, not looking at them as she jumped out of the booth and ran over to the new group.

"Finally," Orychle said, relaxing a bit. "She is a bit much to handle at times." He glanced over at Marcus, who was still smiling at him. "So who is he, anyway?" Orychle asked, nodding towards the boy, now being pawed at by Candy.

"That, I believe, is Brandon Diggorced." Marcus said matter-of-factly "Three years ago, his brother was one of the best Quidditch captains Kinrick had ever had. They look shockingly alike." He added, staring at Brandon.

"Hey!" Orychle said, elbowing him playfully. "Thinking of changing your mind?" he added, with a wink, and placed his hand on Marcus' thigh, squeezing it gently.

"Never," he said, and put his hand on Orychle's face, pulling him in close for a kiss.

It was his first kiss, and for that few seconds, Orychle hoped it would never end. He sat there, falling into bliss, Marcus' warm mouth pressed against his.

"Ahem." The waitress cleared her throat, ruining the moment. Silently, Orychle wanted to throw the ashtray at her, but seeing her smile and playful wink, he knew she felt bad about it. "Here you boys go." She said, dropping off their plates, and setting their pops in front of them. She took out the check and scratched something down, and set it face-down on the edge of the table next to Marcus' elbow, winking.

"Thank you," he said, and after she left he pulled the check up and let out a laugh. "Looks like gay couples get the employee discount." He said, showing the ticket to his new boyfriend. "A phin and three knuts even." He grinned.

After Javies, Marcus and Orychle decided to stop by the Dustpan, a store that sold quality broomsticks. Orychle had idiotically came without his broom, and desperately needed to replace it, flying was, after all, on of his favorite pastimes.

The walked in together, Marcus with his arm around Orychle, and immediately searched for Deidrich, the shopkeeper.

"Diedrich, you in here?" Orychle called back. He knew this shopkeeper personally, his parents had given him the loan to open the Dustpan, so he spent a lot of time at their house.

"Young Orry, ees dat you?" His thick accent called from the back room. "_Eine Minute, _mein friend." he called. There was some shuffling around, and a loud clatter which was followed by an inaudible exclamation in german. Orychle and Marcus couldn't help but utter a chuckle.

A few moments later, a short, heavy-set older man came out from the back. His blue-grey eyes lit up when he saw the couple. He rushed over, and wrapped his burly arms around both of them, squeezing them for dear life.

"It's great to see you, too Deidrich," Orychle laughed after they were released from the bear-hug. He smiled at the man, who was a good foot shorter than himself. His hair had gone completely gray since the last time he'd seen him, and there was significantly less now. There were age marks all over the man's face, which was contorted in glee. It had been about two years since they'd seen each other last.

"And who ees your friend here, eh _bolzen_?" he said with a wink, a coy, knowing smile on his face.

Orychle just laughed, "I hardly think I'm a _stud_, Deid," he smiled at Marcus, "This is Marcus he's my…um.." he was still a bit uncomfortable with the new status he had.

"I'm, his boyfriend," Marcus said, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Deidrich." His hand was taken and shaken roughly, but affectionately.

"Mmmhmm," Deidrich began, "I 'ad always suspected you were that way, mein child." His smile stretched more, wrinkling his already creviced skin. "Und I am very pleased you 'ave found someone." He slapped his hand on Marcus' shoulder. "Und such uh _strong_ one, as well." He gave the boy a wink and turned back to Orychle, who was blushing profusely.

"Stop embarrassing us, Deid," he said, playfully. He was the only one being embarrassed, really. "I came here to replace my broom, I seem to have left it at home." he said, sheepishly.

Deidrich gasped and took a step back. "Das Feuerschlag!" he squealed, and began ranting in german, but Orychle grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Yes, yes I know Deid. It was irresponsible of me to leave my Firestrike at home. Can you get me a replacement?" he said, giving his best apologetic look. Deidrich sighed and gave him a slightly irrated, but caring glare.

"Jah, dis I can do." he said, "Eine, please." and he returned to the back room.

When he had disappeared from sight, Marcus turned to his boyfriend. "I didn't know you spoke german!" He said, excitedly.

Orychle blushed. "I don't exactly speak it. I understand it, though. You see, my family loaned Deidrich the money to open up the Dustpan, so he was around our house a lot when I was younger. It was kind of a "learn to understand it, or never know what he's saying' type of situation." he laughed. "He really is like an uncle to me, though." he said just as Deidrich was returning from the back.

In his hands was a beautiful Birchwood broom. There were streaks of fire-read throughout the handle, and the straw was silken but hard, and shined silver with specs of indigo.

"Das Feuerschlag 2000." He smiled, carefully handing the broom over to his young friend.

Orychle ran his hand along the staff of the broom, and then gently fondled the straw. The footrests were ivory and titanium, and the word 'Feuerschlag 2000' embossed in deep red along the side of it. Yes, it was definitely an upgrade from his Feuerschlag, and inside, he was glad he had forgotten his old broom. He was expecting the upgrade for solstice, but it looked like he got it early.

"It's beautiful, Deid, thank you." He said, still admiring it. "How much do I owe you?" He said, reaching into his pocket.

"Nein, nein!" he said, waving his hands and shaking his head. "You should know better. Eet is taken care of." he said, smiling. He was referring to the fact that Orychle's family got 'free upgrades' on their brooms (along with a discount on new brooms).

"Deid, it's a replacement, not an upgrade" Orychle exclaimed, he didn't want to take advantage of the man.

"Nein!" Diedrich said, a stern look on his face. "Eet is covered, and that ees final!" He said, passionately. Orychle gave him a loving look. "Consider das replacement ein congratulation." he said, his eyes shifting back and forth between Orychle and Marcus.

"Thank you, Died, thank you very much." Orychle said, smiling. He bid the old man farewell and they left the shop.

Orychle had taken two steps out of the building when someone crashed into him. "What the--!" he yelled as he fell to the ground, still clutching his Feuerschlag.

"Oh, I'm so very sorry!" a girl's voice said. Once they had both got on their feet, Orychle recognized her.

"Roxy!" he exclaimed, and gave her a hug. After they had released each other, introductions were exchanged. "So, where's your little posse I saw you with earlier, Rox?" he said, smiling.

She smiled that playful smile, "Well, after Candy mauled us at Javies, I ducked out." She glanced up the street towards the restaurant. "Poor Brandon, she's probably picking him clean right about now." She laughed, unlike Candy, Roxy's laugh was more like dozens of wind chimes being tossed about in a gentle pool. It was very relaxing.

"Oh, yeah, the Diggorced boy," Orychle said, giving Roxy a coy, yet revealing smile. "And just what is the story there?"

Roxy's face turned a flattering hue of magenta. "Well…" she began, that innocent smile crossing her face. "He's sweet, and attractive, and VERY charming." She kind of hesitated, glancing away. "Wait, what's the story with _you two_" she said, diverting attention away.

This time, it was Orychle's turn to blush. "Yeah…turns out I never realized it but I like guys." he said, still kind of shy about the whole thing. "Marcus here is my first boyfriend." His face felt so hot.

"Roxanne!" a young man's voice called from behind Orychle. He and Marcus spun around to see Brandon Diggorced jogging up the walk. His face was flushed, though upon closer inspection; Orychle realized he was blushing heavily.

"Brandon, are you ok? Where's Candy?" Roxanne said, greeting him with a friendly hug.

He gave her a playful glare. "I finally escaped her," this was met with a laugh by all. "She is trying to fix me up with every girl in sight, whether she knows them or not!"

"That would explain the blushing then," Orychle said, not meaning for it to have been aloud.

Brandon turned to him. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" There was a bit of snob in his voice, which offended Orychle. Before he could respond, however, Roxy put her hand on Brandon's shoulder.

"This is one of my best friends from Basic Wizarding school. Orychle, Brandon, Brandon, Orychle." She smiled as Brandon's demeanor changed. He extended his hand.

"Any friend of Roxanne's." his smile WAS charming, Orychle thought silently.

"And this is his boyfriend, Marcus," she added, grinning. Brandon's face went from normal to shocked, to normal again in less than two seconds. He extended his hand to Marcus, as well.

"So where were you guys heading? We were thinking of heading over to the bookstore and seeing what we could drudge up about the Dark Isle." Roxy said, the last half being hushed.

Orychle laughed, "You should go talk to my brother if you're interested in the Dark Isle. He spent all last summer reading up on the darker side of Knockwood."

"Your brother?" Marcus said, turning toward him. "Is he in Aeridorn, too?"

"No," Orychle laughed, "He's a Wolfsbane, although he does have some Aeridorn personality traits."

"Oh yeah, I saw him last night, he was chatting with some Wolfsbane girl on their way to the dorms." Roxy added, smiling. "She was real cute, too."

"THERE YOU ARE!" Candy's voice echoed down the path. They all turned (Brandon let out a small yelp at her voice) and watched her trot down the path, Sharie and Rebecca close at her heels.

"And that," Marcus whispered, "Is our cue." He turned toward Roxy and Brandon. "Hate to chat and run, but poor Orychle here still hasn't unpacked and settled in his room." He said, a knowing smile gracing his face.

"Yeah, he's got a point. We'll see you around, great meeting you Brandon." Orychle said, as they walked away at a slightly hurried pace. In the distance they could hear Candy already pawning over how cute Brandon and Roxy looked together. "That girl is just too much sometimes." He said to himself, laughing as they walked back towards the ferry dock.

Back at the dormitory, Orychle sent Marcus on ahead and took a few moments to take everything in. He hadn't had much of a chance to truly revel at the dorm, nor check out the lounge, Alexander had him shoved in one persons face or another the night before.

He meandered around the entry hall, where they stood the night before, being informed by their prefects. The whole building was white-bricked, but the brick itself shined a bit, almost glittered in the morning light seeping in from the windows. There was a blue-purple hue to it from certain angles. Orychle went right on top of a corner that was fully exposed to the huge front windows. Upon closer inspection, he jumped back, gasping. This was not white-brick. It was moonstone, pure, white moonstone. He was a little shocked that the Aeridorn house was forged of moonstone, seeing as the gem's element was water. However, seeing as this was a house full of knowledge and learning, it made a bit of sense. Moonstone aided in calming, balance, relaxation and clairvoyance. The element was wrong, but everything else made sense. On top of that, using white moonstone was a great choice, for it has a silver-ish hue to it when dull, and when the light hits it, it sparkles blues and purples. It fit the house well. He wondered if the other houses were made out of corresponding minerals as well.

He continued around and found himself in the lounge. Full, comfortable chairs and couches littered the room, two end tables and a coffee table to each couch. The lighting was exceptional, and there was very little visible moonstone in the lounge. Instead, from side to side, top to bottom, was nothing but books. It appeared as if the walls themselves were just books stacked on top of each other.

He breathed in deeply, the scent of ancient texts tickled his nostrils. It was a pleasant sent, this aged paper. He wondered if anyone had ever read every book here, it was possible, if they did nothing BUT read in their spare time. He laughed to himself. Ian would have had a hayday here, he loved to read more than most Aeridorns.

On the wall opposite the entryway, Orychle found himself standing in front of a small pedestal. Upon it, rested a small statuette of an owl perched on top of a slanted plaque. He read the plague aloud:

"In my house, no book is inaccessible. _Alevitatus Persona_ will aide you in reaching new heights. Athena Aeridorn." he raised his head and looked up. The room was a good twelve feet high at least. He took out his wand and pointed it to himself. "Alevitatus Persona." he said, and he felt himself grow lighter. Moments later, he was levitating. He 'urged' himself in this direction and that, reveling in the newfound spell. Finally, he set himself down on the ground again, smiling.

He noticed a book leaning against the owl that he had not seen before. He picked it up: "Athena Aeridorn, Wendigo Wolfsbane, Kenneth Kinrick, and Erik Everard: A diary of founders." He realized it had to be a history on the four Knockwood founders, and decided he would keep it with him until he had the time to settle down and read it.

He crossed back out of the room, walking close to the window. He ran his hands across the tapestries, they were heavy velvet in a rich, noble purple. As he returned to the main hall, he ran his hand along the banister the whole way up the stairs. The dark polished cherry wood accented the moonstone exquisitely. At the top of the stairs was a larger-than-life portrait of Athena Aeridorn, she smiled at him and gave a little nod. He said hello to her and continued on his way. He admired the many solemn portraits down the hallway, most of them reading, or doing something in the background. Every once in awhile, one or two would greet him, or look at him and whisper to the portrait next to him.

Then there was the doors themselves. Each one was decorated differently. There was, of course, the names of the three tenants, but the names were each in different scripts; matching their bearers' personality, he assumed. He stopped at his door and stared at it. Yes, definitely matching the bearers' name. His name was written in a cursive, elegant script; though a little rushed (just like he would do). Next to his name was a picture of a beautiful windswept ocean scene (in motion, of course). He admired it, and looked at the other two names. Marcus' name was scratched in a hurried cursive/printed script. Small vines wrapped around his nameplate, and what looked like miniature batches of belladonna sprung up on one end. Jacob's name was scripted very sloppily and in print. He sighed to himself. That must mean Jacob is rather sloppy and pretty bland. The decoration around Jacob's name were photographs of his friends and family. Each miniature person whispering to each other and waving at Orychle.

He reached for the doorknob and noticed a large keyhole to the left of the knob. He turned the knob, but it was locked. He hadn't noticed the keyhole there before, and he certainly didn't need a key the night before.

"Psst." A portrait whispered behind him. He turned to find himself face to face with a beautiful albino phoenix. The plaque attached to the portrait said "Edina". He smiled, he admired albino phoenix's. They were extremely rare, and he had the feather of one bound inside his wand of willow.

"Your key is behind my portrait, they were dropped off today." It said in a friendly, though hushed, feminine voice. He walked over to the portrait and swung it out to the left. There, hanging on a nail on and indent, was a small key attached to a purple and silver ribbon.

He 'closed' the portrait and stared down at the key. He started to speak, but Edina interjected. "Once it's in the lock, you speak your password, and it becomes enlarged." She leaned toward the bottom of the portrait. "Your roommates have already decided on a password: Snicklefritz."

Orychle laughed to himself and thanked the portrait. He went back to his door and stuck the tiny key in the huge hole. "Snicklefritz" he whispered, and the key grew, fitting snuggly into the lock now. He turned it and opened the door. Once opened, the key shrank back to its original size.

Inside the room, Marcus was sitting at his desk, leafing through todays issue of the Daily Prophet. Jacob was tucked away in his bed reading some mystery novel. Orychle pulled his trunk out of the closet and took it to his desk.

"I've got to go talk to Proffessor Ossix, the quidditch coach," Marcus said after he'd noticed Orychle. "I'll be back in a bit, ok?" He said, giving him a wink and blowing him a kiss.

Orychle laughed, no doubt Marcus hadn't said a word to Jacob yet. "Sure, you going to be on the team?"

"Of course," he said, smacking his fist against his chest, "last year, I was Aeridorns best chaser, even though I was a first year." He said, proudly.

"Oh, ok" Orychle laughed, "I'll see you in a bit then." He returned the blown kiss as Marcus left the room.

He sat in his chair and looked about his desk area. There was a short, but long bookcase sitting on the floor under the window. The right end of his desk met the left end of the bookcase, and Orychle silently thanks Jacob for taking the cramped desk. He opened his trunk and started filling the bookshelf with his personal book collection. After he had filled the bookshelf (along with a hanging shelf on the wall behind him), he pulled out three thick folders and set them in the top right hand drawer of his desk. He glanced over at Jacob and sighed. He didn't know this one too well, so he couldn't leave things unprotected. He took out his wand and pointed it at the drawer. "Inaccessible" he said, and there was a sound of the drawer closing and locking (though it never moved and had no lock). Jacob had neither turned nor asked about this lack of trust, which made Orychle feel much better.

He pulled out his notebooks and stacked them up on the desk along with his best quills and favorite inks. He sat back and smiled. It was starting to feel like home. He finished by using a permanent sticking charm to stick some photographs of his friends and family up to the over-self of the desk (which was, coincidentally also filled with books of his now). He sat back and smiled at one of the pictures. It was of his cousins, Roger Davies and Adrian Pucey over at Hogwarts in England. They waved at him.

Finally comfortable, after taking his custom made chair pillow and tieing it to his chair, he set the book he had retrieved from the lounge on the table in front of him. He hadn't studied the history of the founders too much, although he had study the history of the school itself extensively. He was anxious to read, and sat back, propping his feet on his desk, and delved into the diary of the school founders.


	3. Chapter Three

-1Orychle opened the aged leather cover and ran his hands across the almost ancient first page. He read:

_"Aeridorn : Where curiosity and desire for knowledge abound Athena Aeridorn;_

_Wolfsbane : The Powerful, Ingenious, and Shrewd. Wendigo Wolfsbane; Kinrick : Let the playful and able come to my open arms. Kenneth Kinrick; Everard : Where else will Nobility and down-to-earth be accepted? Erik Everard."_

_We have left this diary behind as our legacy to each house. It is enchanted to be everywhere it is wanted, even if wanted at the same time. _

_To those in the Aeridorn House:_

_Remember always that any witch or wizard with a thirst for knowledge and a healthy curiosity is more than welcome within my walls. Turn away none who would show the Aeridorn spirit. Be good to your house brothers and sisters, and keep always honor and learning above all else. May my guardian owl watch over you in times of danger, and keep you from walking a darker path._

_Athena Aeridorn, Aeridorn founder._

_To those in the Wolfsbane House:_

_We are the pride of Knockwood, no matter what any other tell you. We share a strong sense of pride, and immense artistic abilities. The guardian fox is sly and witty, let this be your guide. For in my house, any path is acceptable, let those who want the power, have it in Wolfsbane._

_Wendigo Wolfsbane, Wolfsbane founder_

_To Those in the Kinrick House;_

_Welcome, welcome, welcome. I am more than happy to have my generosity extended to all who would have it. Like the joyous guardian of your house, the Sea Otter, Kinricks will forever been seen as the happy, the social, and the able-bodied. Let independence yet social ness be your guides as you traverse the years through Knockwood. _

_Kenneth Kinrick, Kinrick founder_

_To Those in the Everard House:_

_I will not leave you words of airy, nor playful tones. Like you, I am down to earth and very noble. Remember that your element is earth, and it is to that earth that you should keep yourself grounded. The guardian Boar will give you the strength and leadership you need to survive your years. Everard is a name that shall stay with you forever, as it is recognizable and admired. _

_Erik Everard, Everard founder_

Orychle took a moment and sighed. He had only read two pages, and already he felt like he had personally known each house founder. After going outside for a quick cigarette behind the building, he returned to his book and began the main logs.

_We four founders have written this log together in a joint effort to bring you the best possible access to our stories. Where it is less than the four of us writing, we will note it with our signatures. _

_We four met and joined together after hearing of the success of our English counterparts. We had been friends and socialites with the founders of Hogwarts, and admired their cause. We felt it important, not only to school students, but to give them an advanced education. We had originally opened our school as a place for Hogwarts students to further their metaphysical learning. This failed horribly, however, and we broke off our connections with Hogwarts. It was around this time that North America was "discovered" and Europeans came over in drones. With the everyday people, came witches and wizards, interested in this new 'discovery'. It did not take long for the Wizarding community to found itself within the roots of American history. _

_Our ancestors either came over on the first set of pilgrims, or were conceived from those that first landed here. Therefore, we are through and through, true Americans. As time went on, we advanced along with America, and by the time it became the United States of America, we had already founded two basic wizarding schools: Driftwood on the west coast, and Elderwood in the northeast. _

_Back then, the student population was rather low, and even with some families coming to America from England, the progress of the two schools was slow. It took a few centuries for the North American Wizarding community to develop and flourish. _

_During the civil war, our people suffered as much a loss as the muggle community. We fought side by side with our brothers and sisters, though we did not always agree with their stance. We four were divided during this time as well, though we would meet occasionally, setting our differences aside. Everard and Wolfsbane fought valiantly with the south, but as any who know about American History will know, the south lost the war. _

_Athena: I personally think that neither Erik, nor Wendigo have let this loss go, although they will deny it to the death, I'm sure._

_After the states became one again, we realized that the wizarding community needed to evolve as well. It was at this time that we built Knockwood with our own hands. It took twelve years for us to build this school, brick by glorious brick. Each of us put our own sweat and blood into each house, ensuring that they keep our own personalities. _

_Athena & Wendigo: We two lended a bit of aide to each others' structure, which is why many Aeridorns and Wolfsbanes will see some coincidences in their personalities. _

_When the school was finished, it was filled the next year. Every student of the basic wizarding schools had joined Knockwood, and in its first few years, helped it grow and evolve into what it is today. We four lived but a few centuries longer than the school, each of us passing within a year of each other. It is our spirits that have written this log, and it is both our story, and our memoirs. With the passing of each member, a dark haze fell over the grounds. And by the time of death of the fourth of us (Erik Everard, whom wants it noted he was far too stubborn to die so quickly) a dark mass had enveloped the school. _

_An evil man, Damien Malevous, (a former Wolfsbane, we may note, though he was almost an even split between Aeridorn and Wolfsbane), rose in power against the American Wizarding community. He was a sick and twisted man, and had a sorrowful obsession with Salazar Slytherin. He lead an army of dark wizards against the community, and tried to take over all of the wizarding schools in north america. _

_He was felled by a noble Aeridorn, Alexandria Belore, who had eyes like moonstones, and a heart pure innocence. Before he was killed, however, he used his dark arts to move the mass of darkness from around the castle. Coupling it with his own dark magics, he stored this hateful darkness within the bowels of the Cave Isle. There, the once beautiful and magnificent tunnels, stretching endlessly, were cast into darkness and damp. It is there that Damien's soul resides, as do the souls of his followers, the Dark Minions. It is also there, that our souls are bound for all eternity, Damien's dark magic sealing us within it._

_A word of warning about the now Dark Isle Cave: While it is now the only place one may communicate with our souls, it is also one of the most dangerous places in the wizarding world. Any who enter run the risk of becoming possessed by Damien's spirit. _

Orychle sat back and rested his eyes a moment, taking in all the information he had just read. He wondered if Ian knew about the Dark Cave's history, he knew everything else about it. He decided he must know. He picked up the book and turned the page, but it was blank. He skimmed the rest of the pages, but they, too were blank. He sighed and set the book on the desk. He stood, and stretched his back out, wondering when Marcus was getting back. Looking down, he exclaimed aloud--the book had disappeared!

He ran down to the lounge and checked the statue, but the book was not there, either. With a disturbed sigh, he walked away from the pedestal, his head still reeling. He crashed on the nearest loveseat, staring off at the wall.

"Hey Orychle, right? How are you?" Sharie had just walked into the lounge, her ever-present smile stretched across her face.

Orychle returned her smile, "I'm doing ok, I guess. Just bored at the moment," he lied. He wasn't bored at all, in fact. He was actually starting to grow a bit tired, although he was dying to see what kind of books they had in these walls.

"Well that's never fun," Sharie said, walking around the room, admiring the books. "So you have known Roxanne for a while then, eh?" She said, glancing around at Orychle.

"Yeah, we were in basic wizarding school together. She's a great gal." he added, standing up and stretching again.

"Yeah, she seems like it. I think she and Diggorced hit it off really well this afternoon." Her smile went coy.

"That's terrific, he seemed like a really swell guy," he smiled, shocked that he actually had used the word 'swell'. He MUST be tired, he thought. "Well, I hate to be rude, Sharie, but I'm exhausted. I need to head to bed." As he finished, he saw Marcus walk in and past the lounge entryway.

Sharie glanced towards the entryway, and turned back, smiling "Oh, I bet you are." She winked. "That's fine, maybe I'll see you at breakfast?" She asked, and without waiting for an answer, she walked, almost skipping, out of the lounge.

Orychle wasted no time returning to his room, and in fact arrived about three seconds behind Marcus. "Hey, how did I?" he began, Marcus had had a good ten seconds ahead of him.

Marcus turned and glanced at a portrait down the hall, "Madame Quinteel stopped me. She can be quite the talker, you know." He added, grinning. "She wanted to know all about you."

After a good amount of blushing, and a quick glance down the hall towards Madame Quinteel, Orychle gave Marcus a playful nudge and followed him into the room. Once in the room, they were met with an unadulterated glare from Jacob.

"Um…hi Jacob, is something wrong?" Marcus began, uncertain.

"You guys could have at least, TOLD me, instead of having to hear it from a fucking Everard!" He exclaimed, it took all of two seconds for Orychle and Marcus to realize what he was talking about.

"Oh, sorry about that Jacob…it just kind of happened. We were planning on telling you, truly we were." Marcus said, laughing.

Jacob stood there, glaring. Finally, he let his lips crack into a grin. "I don't really mind, was just a little shocked, you know?" He said sitting down on his bed. "I'm really happy for both of you."

Before anyone else could speak, there was a scratching at the window. Marcus went over and slid it open and laughed as a small otter hopped over the edge and bounced his way over to Orychle's feet. It stood on it's hind legs and held out a letter for him. But not just any letter…a howler.

Orychle sighed, news must have gotten back to his family. He took the howler from the otter, who could not get out of the room fast enough. With a sigh, he removed the steal and flinched as it jumped out of his hand, screaming:

"ORYCHLE PUCK DEVLON, YOU SPOILED LITTLE CHILD--HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL US YOU FOUND YOURSELF A MAN! WE HEARD IT FROM DIEDRICH, AND ARE VERY UPSET WE DIDN'T HEAR IT FROM YOU! DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT MADE US FEEL, THAT EVERYONE THERE SEEMS TO KNOW BUT US! WE EXPECT A NICE LONG LETTER AND PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YOUNG MAN BY TOMORROW MORNING!" the howler flopped around a bit more and burst into flames, disappearing.

Orychle laughed to himself, and let out a heavy sigh. He went over to his desk and got out his parchment and started scribbling a response right away. Marcus and Jacob just watched him for a few moments, silently chuckling to themselves.

After fifteen minutes of hearing nothing but quill on parchment, Marcus finally spoke. " 'Puck'?" was all he said, and Orychle sighed, setting his quill down and glaring at his boyfriend.

"Yes, Puck. Would you like to make something of it boy?" He laughed.

He returned the laugh, "No, but does that mean you have a mischievous side I don't know about yet?" he prodded, playfully. Orychle just gave him a coy smile and winked.

"Maybe." and returned back to writing.

Hours later, he had finally finished his letter. He took out a small whistle from his desk and leaned out the window. He blew on it, long and steady, and before long, a small silver owl soared out of the distance. It landed on the ledge and hooted at him softly, and he took a second to rub its head.

"Hello Podwog, thank you for coming. I hate to ask this of you, but this letter has to get to my parents by morning." He said, tieing the note to the owl's leg. "If you get it to them as fast as you can, I promise I will personally deliver you fresh mice for a week." he finished, laughing. The owl hooted a response and nodded before taking off in the night at full speed.

He closed the window and stretched, he was sore and stiff from sitting so long. Just as he was turning to head to bed (Marcus and Jacob had retired an hour or so ago), there was a pecking on the window. "Don't tell me you've forgotten where they live," he said, as he turned, then stopped with a start, staring out the window. This was not Podwog.

He opened the window and watched as a medium sized owl hopped in and stood on his desk. It was pure black and had eyes like two stars in the night sky. He took the letter from it's beak and it hopped over to the window and sat there on the ledge, apparently waiting.

The letter itself was written on very old parchment, and sealed with a double-crest: Aeridorn and Wolfsbane. He raised his eyebrow and turned the letter over. There was his name, written in exquisite calligraphy. He broke the seal and unfolded the letter.

_Orychle Puck Devlon:_

_When you can, come see me._

_Athena Aeridorn_

Orychle dropped the letter, shocked. Athena Aeridorn? But she was dead! Had been for centuries. He was about to re-read the letter, but the owl hopped over and attacked the letter like it was a livid mouse, ripping it to shreds. Once it was finished, it looked up at him and flapped its wings. He tried to reach out for it, but as it did, the owl flapped its wings one final time and it faded into mist. He sighed again, this time out of frustration as well as exhaustion. He decided he could do nothing more than go to bed.

After crawling up into his bunk, he slowly faded into dreamland:

He was an owl, broad wings stretched out and soaring gleefully over the rushing ocean. He could feel the sea-salt dapple his face as the ocean sprayed it's mist up. It was around dawn, and he was flying directly into the sunrise. _So Beautiful._ He though, admiring his surroundings, there was nothing but water for miles. He dipped down to where the tips of his wings could be brushed by the occasional wave.

Without warning, a large black fox burst from the water ahead of him, it's eyes red and evil; it's mouth open, teeth sharp and dripping with saliva and blood. He could not stop, and soared right into it's mouth, into darkness…

He awoke with a start, cold sweat soaking his bed sheets and pajama bottoms. He was panting hard, and there were tears streaked down his face. He stuck his head out of the bed tapestries and glanced around the room. It was dark, he could hear the soft breathing of Marcus, which was almost drowned out by Jacob's harsh snoring.

He picked one of his pillows up and threw it at Marcus, hoping it would wake him up. Unfortunately, however, Marcus' previous roommate experience seemed to have caused him to sleep very, very deeply. So Orychle rolled back onto his back and lay there awake for the longest time. He is not sure when he finally fell asleep, but the last thing he heard were the first sounds of birds chirping outside the window.


	4. Chapter 4

-1The next morning, Orychle woke up to the sounds of screaming and utter chaos in the Aeridorn hallways. He rushed out of the room (Jacob and Marcus were nowhere to be seen) and was almost knocked down by a barrage of older students rushing down the hallway. He gazed down toward the staircase, there was a huge mass of students all pushing their way out.

"Edina? What's going on?" He asked the portrait that hung directly across from his room. She was standing there, her beautiful white fire-feathers all ruffled up in excitement.

"I think I heard one of the 6th years talking about a demon on the grounds of the main isle!" She said, excitedly.

"That's what it was exactly," another portrait down the hall hollered down. Orychle went to it and glanced at the plaque: 'Madame Quinteel'. Oh great.

"Oh yes indeed young man, about half an hour ago, one of the Aeridorn prefects come rushing into the building, screaming 'Demon, Demon! Demon on the school grounds!'. He ran around the halls stirring everyone up. It was such a chaotic state, it was." She took a breathe and Orychle took his chance.

"I think I'm going to go check it out--thank you Madam Quinteel!" He hollered, dashing off before she could say another word.

"Everyone's always in such a rush." The portrait said to herself, sighing.

By the time Orychle arrived at the mass of students and sighed. He stood there for a moment, trying to figure out how to get around it. He takes out his wand and points it at himself "Levitatus Persona!" He said, and felt himself drift into the air, he 'urges' himself over the crowd and out the door before settling himself on the ground a few hundred yards away. "Such a useful spell." he said to himself, silently thanking Athena Aeridorn.

It didn't take long for him to see the demon; there wasn't even a need to follow the mass of students, he could see it from here. It was about fifteen feet tall, and one of the ugliest things he had every seen (including deformed trolls). There were about six horns sticking out of it's crunched black skull, and its eyes were fiery red and orange (all three of them). It was flinging students and teachers around as it made it's way towards the southern part of the main isle.

'It's heading towards the dark cave,' Orychle thought to himself, and took of at high-speed towards the southern beach. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who realized this, for when he glanced behind him, he saw Sharie and Roxy catching up. He slowed himself just enough for the girls to catch up with him.

"It's heading towards the cave, Orychle!" Roxy shouted once the three were at pace.

"I know, and it doesn't look like any of the teachers or elder students are having much luck at stopping it." he hollered back, trying to focus on keeping pace with the girls and not getting ahead.

"What are we doing heading that way then?" Sharie blurted out, panting. "I mean, if the teachers and older students can't stop it, what the hell are we gonna be able to do!" she exclaimed finally, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Well," Orychle began, hesitating. In truth, he had no idea whatsoever what to do, but he had to at least TRY. "We'll just figure that out when we get there." They were getting close to the southern beach, Orychle could smell the sea and watched the demon gain speed. It was heading towards the southern beach from the middle of the isle, so they were running 90 degrees away from it, almost parallel. They would meet up at the beach as long as they stayed steady.

They ran for, what seemed, forever. Orychle's legs had begun to ache as they found themselves a mere 10 yards from both the beach and the demon. He took out his wand as they grew closer, and started running all of the charms he knew over and over in his head. He tried to remember what charms and types of charms would not work against demons and which worked great. His mind was a blank, however, all he could focus on was the fact that they were growing every-closer to the demon and that he STILL did not have a plan.

Finally they were less than three feet away. Unfortunately, he and the two girls seemed that they forgot to stop before crossing the demon; and they soon found themselves face to face, staring down their reflections in it's huge, atrocious eyes. 'Oh god' he thought, 'this is it, we're all going to die.'

The evil creature stretched to full height and screamed, it sounded like a basilisk and troll dying at the same time. It sent chills up and down his spine, and it caused Roxy and Sharie to take a few steps back, their knees chattering. Before the creature could return to its previous hovering-over-them stance, a black owl swooped down and flung a letter at Orychle. Instantaneously he opened it and read it as fast as he could.

"ANGELIUS INHALO!" he screamed, his wand pointed at the demon. The letter burst into flames in his hand, although it was not hot. In that same instant, a quarter second after saying the spell, a patronus like angel of blueish white hues burst forth from his wand and swelled up to twice the size of the demon. Orychle watched in awe as it inhaled deeply and exhaled onto the demon. The breath it let out was invisible, but it's result was completely understood: the demon began wallowing in pain, and it doubled over, crashing to the ground. The angel continued exhaling until the demon faded into a black mist and evaporated completely. Once it was gone, the angel spun around, smiled at Orychle and misted itself away. He collapsed to his knees, exhausted.

"Orychle!" Roxanne exclaimed, rushing over to him, Sharie stood fast, still in awe over what she'd just seen. "Orychle, are you ok?" Roxanne was holding his head steadily against her shoulder.

Just then, a teacher came rushing over. "You there, what just happened!" She exclaimed, her face was contorted in shock and worry; it was clear, however, that her face had grown accustomed to years of worry, it was quite worn.

"There-there was a demon, and he" Sharie chimed up, finally finding her voice. "He stopped it…" she finished, the final words sounded extremely surprised.

"What?" The teacher gasped, clutching an emerald and silver brooch that was settled between her breasts. "How is that even…" she let her voice trail off. Lifting his head from Roxanne's shoulders, he looked at the teacher. He had yet to see her around campus. She was rather tall for a woman, probably about his own height. Her face was leathery and worn, yet seemed soft and was amazingly beautiful for her age. Her eyes were a deep blue, and full of knowledge and caring. Her hair was both red and grey, pulled back into a professionally tied ponytail. She stared down at him, reading his face.

"Yes, I see…Help him up girl." She said, her voice was raspy, but Orychle could tell there was a time it sounded like pure honey, it was still rather flowing and very gentile.

Roxanne helped him to his feet, although he was already starting to feel better; while he had never used such a strong spell, he had always recovered quickly after using powerful ones. He waved her on, and stood up a bit straighter, showing that he was fine. The teacher nodded and once he stood by her side, she put her hand behind is elbow and led him on at a somewhat steady pace.

"You girls report back to your dormitory prefects. They shall be doing head counts soon, let them know the young man is with me." She said, and before the girls could answer, she and Orychle were walking at a somewhat trot.

Once they were away from everyone else (Orychle could see all the students returning to their dorms en masse) she spoke. "What is your name, child." Her words sounded short, but her voice was filled with sweetness.

"Orychle Devlon, ma'am" he said, rather weakly.

"Devlon, eh?" She said, looking ahead and thinking to herself. "I am Professor Aedine," she did not look at him, but kept her face forward. "I am taking you to my office, the headmaster shall be there will wish to hear about this; I have already sent a student to fetch him." Her voice was stable and focused.

The continued on in silence, it felt unending to Orychle. Before long, however, they had entered the castle and mazed their way around until they came upon a small office. They entered the room to find Headmaster Arborshate and two other teachers waiting within. Orychle stood there, feeling stark naked, as Professor Aedine closed and locked the door.

She spun around and stood behind him. "Headmaster, this is the student whom stopped the demon." Her voice was stern and matter-of-factly. She set her hands on his shoulder and awaited the headmaster's response.

"Indeed Lea?" his voice was questioning, but his eyes were fixated and sure. "And his name again?" he asked, though from the tone of his voice, Orychle could tell he felt embarrassed for having to ask.

"Orychle Devlon, an Aeridorn first year." She said, as if he wasn't there. He wondered if he should speak up, he felt very out-of-place at the moment, and rather annoyed at being talked about as if he were somewhere else.

"Devlon, you say? Interesting. Tell me child, how did you stop the demon?" He took a few steps toward Orychle and put his hands together, focused.

"Well…you see, sir, I had rushed over there without even thinking, rather concerned. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I was the best at charms in my basic wizarding school, so I figured I could come up with _something_," he paused to catch his breath, annoyed that he was rambling so, but none here seemed to mind. "Well, as it was about to attack, this black owl swooped down and threw a letter at me. I opened it in a hurry, knowing it was from Athena Aeridorn and-"

"Athena Aeridorn!" one of the teachers interjected, but the headmaster raised his hand to silence her.

"Yes, sorry. Last night the same black owl came knocking on my window. It delivered a letter on very old parchment. That letter said "come and see me soon" and was signed by Athena Aeridorn. At first I thought it was some kind of a joke played by someone else, but when the letter and owl itself both faded away…" he shook his head, trying to bring himself back to today's events. "Anyway, the same owl delivered another letter, right there in the heat of everything. That letter said two words: 'Angelius Inhalo'. I figured it had to be a useful spell, so I used it." He nodded softly as if to say 'and that's that'.

"Well…Angelius Inhalo." He looked at Professor Aedine. "You recognize the spell, I presume; it sounds like your area of expertise.

"Yes, headmaster. It's translation is "Angel's breathe" it is a very strong holy spell." She glanced down at Orychle before continuing. "Although only extremely high-level wizards know of it's existence. It has a horrible recoil, and could easily kill an inexperienced wizard. I, myself, have never even attempted it." she said, slightly shocked. "I'm rather surprised the boy survived it, and even recovered almost instantaneously."

"Interesting." he gazed down at the boy, who was now staring at the floor nervously.

"Perhaps, headmaster, he is?" the previous teacher spoke, but was silenced again with the headmaster's raised hand.

"Another time, Philomena." He said, yet never took his eyes off of Orychle. "I thank you for what you have done, though hope in the future you don't go rushing off without thinking." He gave a hearted chuckle, then continued. "Under the circumstances, I think the child should be enrolled in your class, Lea?" he said, smiling at Professor Aedine.

She nodded in agreeance. "Indeed, Rigmus." She said, returning his smile and offering a small bow. She then led Orychle from the room by his elbow, and did not speak again until they were a few halls away. "My class is usually only allowed to fourth years and above," she said, having just stopped in the middle of a hallway. "I teach 'Divine Charms', what you used today was indeed a very powerful divine charm. Most of my students would not have even known what it was had they seen it firsthand." She said, a small twinge of a smile twitching at the end of her peach lips. "I will speak with your other teachers, and make any arrangements necessary for you to be in my class. You don't mind the extra time, do you?" She said, concerned.

"No, ma'am. I was actually a little bothered by the fact that first years are only allowed to take four classes." he said, laughing.

"Good," was all she said, and told him to return to his dorm. "You'll be receiving an owl with your updated class list very soon." She said, and went on her way back to her office. Orychle headed out of the castle, to find his way back to Aeridorn house.

He had not even taken three full steps inside the dormitory when a crowd of students rushed at him from the lounge, barraging him with question after question about the demon. He could not answer them, could not even hear what most were asking; try as he might.

"LEAVE HIM BE." Marcus' voice bellowed from the top of the staircase, and everyone silenced at once. He had used sonorous to echo his voice, and was placing his wand back into it's pouch as he took the stairs down two at a time. "Come on," he said, grabbing Orychle's hand and leading him back up the stairs, away from the gawkers.

Once they were back in the room, Sharie and Roxy seated on Marcus' bed, Jacob on his own; the questions began, though slowly and one at a time.

"Are you ok?" Roxy asked, a concerned look on her face. Orychle had just replied he was fine when Sharie chimed in:

"Were you in trouble? Who was that teachers, she seemed a bit frightening."

"That was Professor Aedine, the 'Divine Charms' professor; and no, I'm not in trouble." he laughed as Sharie's stressed look became one of calm. "On the contrary, actually. She is enrolling me in her class."

"What!" Marcus said, jumping up from the desk chair he had just sat in. "But only fourth years and higher are allowed in that class!"

Orychle laughed. "I know, she told me that. But apparently that spell I used was an extremely strong Divine Charm. She seems to think I am able to take the class now, she's even speaking with my other teachers to re-arrange my schedule to make room."

"But still," Marcus began, "That's a rather dangerous class, honey." The concern was almost oozing out of the poor boys face.

"Why is it so dangerous?" Jacob asked, a be muzzled look on his face. "Divine is like…godly, heavenly, right? How could that be dangerous?" he looked from Orychle to Marcus and back again.

"Well, holy spells have a habit of giving recoil to their casters," he began, then after Jacob gave him another confused look he added: "Recoil is where the spell hits back at the user, like if you hit a tree, you can damage the bark, but you'll feel the force and pain in your hand. That force and pain is recoil."

"Ah." Jacob said, waiting for more.

Marcus sighed, "Not only the recoil, but divine spells use up more magic than average, every-day spells. They're also dark magic's counterpart; and can suck the very life essence out of their user, if not perfected almost instantly; just like dark magic." Everyone in the room grew silent and solemn, even Orychle. This concerned him a bit, but he felt more than adequate.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, Marcus." He smiled, "I've got one hell of a stubborn spirit at times. Besides, Professor Aedine said that the spell I used could kill an inexperienced wizard with it's recoil. Even she was surprised I survived it, not to mention the fact that I was back on my feet in a matter of seconds." He stood there, proud as everyone in the room eyed him with awe. It felt good, and also made him feel a bit sheepish.

"So. Divine Charms, eh?" Marcus said, sitting back down and leaning into his chair. He let out a low whistle. "That makes five classes for your first year, eh? Well, I know you're going to be rather busy." He laughed.

"Afraid he won't have time for you?" Roxy joked. Orychle was glad she was lightening the mood.

"He better save some time for me." Marcus said sarcastically, winking at his lover. "How else will I get down his pants?" He laughed loudly, and everyone gasped before joining in the laughter.

Orychle went over and plopped down onto Marcus' lap. "You, my dear, will get down my pants where, when, and how I say." he said, pinching the man's cheek. "And that is that." he leaned in and kissed him. The girls 'wooooooo'ed, Jacob looked away, snickering to himself.

"Guess we know who wears the pants in _this_ relationship, eh Sharie?" Roxy giggled.

Marcus leaned in close and kissed Orychle again, then whispered: "Yeah, but how long will they stay on?" he chuckled and kissed his boyfriend again.

That night, Orychle had another strange dream.

Once again, he was an owl soaring over the ocean. This time, however, no fox jumped from the waters. Instead, a small island appeared, and he flew to it. Landing on the top of it's mountain, he stood there, proudly. He screeched a beautiful owl-song at the top of his lungs, and the entire island seemed to shake in response. Birds came out of the trees and flew up towards him, joining in the song; animals of all shapes and sizes bounded up the mountainside, each contributing their own harmony to the song.

This continued for a long while, and when the song stopped, Orychle was surrounded on the mountaintop by every creature that dwelled on the small island.

Then a pack of foxes walked out of the ocean onto the shore, he watched as they scoured their way up the mountainside; killing and eating any creature that got in their way. Finally they were at his feet. They all howled at once and lowered themselves into a bow. All but one. It's gray eyes stared at him with unadulterated hatred, giving him chills.

_I shall one day rule even you._ It's eyes said, in a chilling, yet familiar, voice._ Even you._ It echoed as it turned and walked back down the mountainside, it's pack following close at hand. Orychle watched in horror as the surviving creatures changed into foxes and followed the main pack. He finally stood there, alone, save for a few creatures and all of his winged brethren. A felt a single tear streak down his beak and he woke up.

"Orychle?" a young man's voice echoed from the other side of the door. "ORYCHLE" it said again, almost yelling.

"What?" he opened his eyes to the sound of someone knocking feverishly. Marcus and Jacob were nowhere to be found, but a note had been attached to the inside of his tapestry.

_Had to run out, back soon._

_XOXO, Marcus_

"O-R-Y-C-H-L-E!" the voice bellowed, irritatingly.

"Just a moment, I'm coming!" He hollered back, and jumped down from his bed.

He opened the door to find himself face to face with Chris Terrins, the third year prefect. "Sorry if I woke you, Orychle. But a rather large package has arrived, addressed to you." He took a step to the right to reveal a large, trunk-sized package sitting in the hallway.

"Wow. Um, ok" Orychle replied, and dragged it into his room. "Thank you." he said, and closed the door back.

As he pulled the thing over to his desk, he tried to recognize the handwriting. It took him a few moments, but he finally made it out to be his Aunt Anna's scratches. He sighed, her writing was atrocious and often gave him headaches. He hoped she had not included a long letter.

He sat down in his desk chair and tore the brown parchment wrapping off of it. It was indeed a trunk, though styled more like a treasure chest. He laughed to himself. He took his wand out and pointed it at the lock. "Open Sesame" it was a clichéd spell, but the only locking spell his aunt could seem to remember. The lock clicked open, and he lifted the lid.

Inside, sitting on top, was a thick envelope with his name inscribe on it in his mother's handwriting. 'Thank merlin.' he thought to himself as he opened it.

Dear son,

We appreciate your quick response to our last communication. Although poor Podwog was almost dead with exhaustion when we received it. Nonetheless, we appreciate your expedited response. I understand that you do not have a picture of him yet, and that is fine, your description was more than adequate; he sounds like a fine, upstanding boy.

Unfortunately, not ten minutes after Podwog had arrived, so did another owl. This one from the Ministry of Magic in England. It seems your father and I have been asked to research something rather top secret, and we will be overseas for the next year. This means we shall miss you for both solstice, as well as your birthday.

Orychle sighed sadly. He had been looking forward to solstice with his family, it was always so enjoyable. He read on:

In light of this, we decided you should receive your presents before, rather than after. Since your father and I have to leave almost immediately, we have asked your Aunt Anna to purchasing the gifts for you and send them as well. If they arrive late, I apologize.

Please enjoy your gifts, we shall see you for summer break, hopefully.

Sincerely with love,

Mom and Dad.

Orychle put the letter on the table and sighed. It wasn't near as long as he'd expected. It turns out, there was still another letter in the envelope. This one from his Uncle Earl.

Hey kid,

I assume you'd rather I write your letter instead of your Aunt Anna, therefore: I have. We are sorry to hear that your father and mother must leave so urgently, and were more than happy to fulfill their request. We have bought the items they listed for us, and have included a few ourselves. (We assume of course, since you will not be able to see your mother and father this solstice, that you may join your new boyfriend with his family; so we are not expecting to see you, either, if you do.) I hope you're enjoying your time at Knockwood, and congratulations on both the new love, as well as making Aeridorn. Keep the family tradition alive and excel under the owl's watch nephew!

Your Uncle Earl

P.s.: at the last minute I managed to slip in an extra special gift, I'm sure you'll realize what it is once you've sorted this old trunk out. Earl

He added that letter to the desk with the former and gazed into the trunk. Inside, there were the common family gifts: a bit of new clothing (most likely from his aunt, who thought one could never have enough socks and underwear), a few books (sadly, half of them he already had; his parents never kept up with his book checklist); and of course photographs.

Along with these common items, were a few extra special gifts: A large box which contained an assortment of baked goods (a rarity, his aunt was a splendid cook, but very lazy at getting around to it); some extra-fine tipped quills and fresh parchment sheets; a very thick book entitled 'Secrets of Knockwood castle' (no doubt the gift from his uncle), and finally a wizard-board.

It was this he reached for first; they were still rather new, though many young witches and wizards had them. It was very similar to a skateboard, except that there were no wheels. It worked very much like your average broomstick. He smiled at it, definitely something new and enjoyable, for a change. His father would have been the one to choose this for him; the man always trying to find the most cutting edge gifts for his son. Orychle wondered what his parents had gotten Ian. They shared different fathers, but Orychle's dad cared very much for Ian, and would most likely get him something equally impressive to the wizard-board, if not one as well.

He then took out the thick book and skimmed it: there were many pages and diagrams about secret passages and hidden rooms. He slipped this into his top right desk drawer, knowing it would find itself useful one day. The other items were equally removed and set up, the quills replacing the shoddy ones he had used for ages, parchment joining the dying stack already on his desk. He placed the books he didn't already have on the already over-crowded bookshelf; and tossed the ones he did have back into the trunk. The cookies he decided to share with his friends and left them out while he finished setting this up. When he was done, he grabbed the box and left his room.

"I see you got a care package from home." Edina said, cooing at him. "Your family cares a lot about you, don't ever take that for granted, child."

He smiled up at the phoenix-portrait. "Yes I know, Edina. And I would never dream of taking them for granted." he added. "I wish I could share these with you, but you understand." he said, nodded sympathetically.

"Yes, yes yes. If you really wanted to be nice to me, you would have someone shine my blasted frame, it's been months since it's seen a washrag." Orychle stepped closer to it and realized the frame was not made of darkened wood, as he previously expected, but of silver.

"Wow." he muttered. "I'll personally do it myself, Edina." he said, staring at the frame in disgust.

"I would so appreciate it, Orychle." She returned. "And anything I can ever do for you, you just make sure and tell me, child." She finished as Marcus came trotting down the hall towards him.

"I will, Edina. Goodbye!" He said, and went to meet Marcus. He truly did enjoy his moments with Edina. He had always respected albino phoenix's, after all; it was the white fire-feather of an albino phoenix that gave his wand it's magic. He momentarily wondered if the feather could have been Edina's, but the thought escaped him as Marcus wrapped his arm around him and kissed his cheek.

"Good morning beautiful, have you baked for me?" He joked, lifting up the corner of the box in Orychle's hand.

"No, I haven't," he said, pulling the box away and smiling. "My aunt baked these for me, they just arrived. I was about to take them down to the lounge and enjoy them with my friends." he said, playfully. "I _guess_ I could share them with you, as well."

"You little scamp," Marcus laughed, and kissed Orychle on the lips, nipping at his bottom lip a bit playfully. "Sharie and Roxanne are down there now, chittering on about something humorous Brandon did this morning."

As Orychle rounded the corner into the lounge, he saw Sharie and Roxy sitting on the couch, talking with another Aeridorn girl he had yet to meet. He set himself in one of the overstuffed chairs angled towards the couch the girls were on, and set the cookies, now open, on the coffee table in front of them.

"They're my aunt's famous butterbeer and pumpkin juice cookies." He said, pulling out for himself. Sharie cringed slightly.

"That doesn't exactly sound _delicious_, Orychle." She said, trying not to sound rude.

"Oh stuff it and try one," Roxy said, taking one from the box and sticking it in Sharie's mouth.

"Mmm. Oh my god! These are AMAZING!" she exclaimed, inhaling what was left of it. "Does your aunt make these a lot?" She said, reaching for another one.

"No, actually." he said, wiping some crumbs off of his pants. "While she is a superb cook, she lacks motivation. We're lucky if she bakes or cooks more then three times a year." He finished, laughing.

A second year boy came into the lounge and stood near the group. "Hey guys, did you hear about the school bonfire?" He asked, taking a flyer out of his pocket. "It's tomorrow night, apparently they hold on every Friday before the first day of school. There should be a pretty big turnout this year." he finished, smiling. He pulled out another flyer as he approached another group of students.

"Wow, it seems like it might actually be fun." Sharie said, reading the flyer. "Here," she handed it to Orychle.

"Come to the Knockwood bonfire--meet your classmates and have one final blow out before classes start." Orychle read, he set it on the table. "I'm up for it, Marcus?" he said, looking up at his boyfriend, who was seated on the armrest of his chair.

"Oh hell yeah, they allow alcohol, no matter what your age is. The professors that host it are so cool you can get away with anything." He said, nudging Orychle. "I'm definitely there."

"Then it's settled." Roxanne said, getting up. "I'll see you guys there, I'm going to go see who else is going." Her wink told everyone she was bee lining for Kinrick.

They all sat there, Roxy rejoining them later, getting to know each other and becoming better friends overall. Around two in the morning, Orychle and Marcus finally retired to their room.

"Good night boys," Edina whispered when the lock clicking awakened them.

"Goodnight Edina," Orychle said, smiling. "I'll get your frame cleaned tomorrow morning. Promise." He went in and crawled up into his bed. It took him no time to fall asleep.

That night, his strange dreams haunted him yet again. This time, he was actually himself, and not an owl.

He was in the middle of the ocean, standing on top of the water. All around him the waves crashed against each other. There was a soft, chiming song drifting to him on the wind. He looked every which way for the source of the sound, but could not find it. Finally, he felt a presence above, and looked up. There, floating down from the heavens, was a beautiful, immaculate angel. Her hair was long and flowing blonde, her face as perfect and pristine as a porcelain doll.

Her arms were outstretched and there was a look of fear on her face. Finally, he heard an echoing in his head.

"Below…" he turned his face down and lost his breath. Below him, rising from the deep, was a mass of black, with two red eyes staring at him.

He felt the angel lift him up, just as the mass was coming out of the water. Before he knew it, he was miles above the ocean's surface. The creature, however, continued to raise up towards them. The angel slowed its ascent and finally let go.

There he fell, miles down, towards the now open mouth of the creature. The angel's voice echoed in it's head again.

"Divine Darkness" He heard this just as the creature slammed it's teeth into him.

He awoke again in a cold sweat, for the second time. His whole body was shaking, the dreams were becoming more and more vivid. He stuck his head out of the tapestry; Marcus was asleep, Jacob snoring away. He decided not to worry him, and rolled back over, drifting off to sleep around dawn.


End file.
